My Last Breath
by Little Alien
Summary: A message from an unknown source leads Hermione to find out what has been going on behind her back. Set during 7th year.


I thought I better stick this little disclaimer in here, seeing as how I was already threatened with legal action once tonight. 

I do NOT, I repeat, do NOT own Harry Potter, or anything affiliated with Harry Potter. The song that the chapter name and the lyrics at the start come from is 'Not Me, Not I' by Delta Goodrem. Her music is awesome! Go download some of it! Whoops! No, DON'T go downloading music, downloading music is illegal, and will get you landed with a lawsuit. Lawsuit = Bad. 

Anyway, here's to hoping I don't get sued for my story, and speaking of the story, on we go!

__ _My Last Breath_ Chapter One- Not Me, Not I 

If you think love is blind   
That I wouldn't see the flaws between the lines   
Surprised that I caught you out   
On every single time that you lied   
Did you think that every time I see you I would cry   
No not me, not I, not I, no not me, not I

Hermione hurried silently down a dark hall of Hogwarts, eager to get to the astronomy tower, having just finished her prefect duties.

She reached into her robe pocket, and pulled out the scrunched-up note she had found in her school bag earlier. She un-scrunched it, and re-read the brief message.

_Astronomy Tower. 10:30 pm. There's something you need to see._

_A friend._

She smiled knowingly at the note, and shoved it back in her pocket. 

Hermione was all-too used to receiving these sort of vague messages from Ron. 

Granted, they were usually signed "a secret admirer" or "your secret lover", but that was just a small detail, it didn't matter.

It was what these notes led up to, that really mattered.

Hermione and Ron would quite frequently steal away to the top of the Astronomy Tower at night, and snog for hours.

No one ever noticed them however, for they had a certain spot that they would always use, which was in a dark corner away from the front of the tower and prying eyes.

Hermione at last reached the base of the tower. 

Taking a deep breath, she began climbing the ladder, taking it two rungs at a time.

She let out a sigh of relief when she finally reached the top, and walked to the door that led to the outside observatory.

Grinning like a teenager in love, Hermione opened the door quietly, and stepped out into the cold night air.

Shivering, she pulled her robes tighter around herself and headed for 'their' corner.

She hadn't thought it necessary to wear any over-clothes, since she figured that all the snogging that would be going on would keep her warm, but she was now beginning to wish she had a jumper, at least.

Hermione had just reached her and Ron's 'corner', when Hermione noticed something on the ground at her feet.

She crouched down to see what it was, and discovered that it was a girl's skirt.

Frowning, Hermione stood, and called out to Ron. "Are you there Ron? I got your…" She trailed off when she saw two figures moving in the shadows.

She grabbed her wand out of her robes. "Lumos!" She said, just as a male voice cried out "Mione, NO!"

The flame that came out of the tip of Hermione's wand was bright enough to light the entire area, and Hermione immediately felt sick to her stomach at the sight before her.

On the ground in 'their' corner, was Ron, with his shirt off, lying on top of a skirt-less girl who had her legs wrapped around him. 

"Oh my god." Hermione cried numbly, as she put a hand to her mouth and stumbled backwards.

"Hermione!" Ron called to her as he got up off the girl, giving Hermione full-view of the girls face.

"OH MY GOD!" Hermione shouted upon recognising Parvati Patil.

Parvati sat up and grabbed her robe from underneath her, dressing quickly.

"Look, Hermione, I know this looks bad, but its not what you think-" Ron tried to explain.

"SHUT UP!" Hermione commanded. "This is EXACTLY what I think." 

"Girls got a point." Parvati agreed and stood up next to Ron.

"YOU SHUT UP TOO!" Hermione roared. "My BOYFRIEND has very little right to speak right now, which means that you have zero rights at the moment. Now, I would like for my BOYFRIEND to explain himself right away."

Parvati just nodded quietly and looked to Ron for his explanation, but he seemed to have trouble coming up with a good enough reason. 

"Well come on then Ron! You've been having it off with someone else, so surely you have a good reason?" Hermione demanded.

"I…I don't know why I did it, Mione." 

"Stop. You don't get to call me that anymore."

"I'm sorry _Mione_, I wish I never did this." Ron replied as he stepped towards Hermione and tried to take her hand.

Hermione stepped backwards and scoffed at Ron. "You wish you never did this." She repeated. 

Ron nodded.

"Well then, that means that you must have some reason for doing this, which you now regret, doesn't it?" Hermione said, more stating than questioning.

Ron shook his head. "No. I'm sorry. I really don't know why I did it."

Hermione suddenly took a step forward. "WHY'D YOU DO IT RON?" She screamed. "WHY'D YOU CHEAT ON ME, WITH _THIS_ NONE THE LESS?" She said as she gestured to Parvati.   
Parvati opened her mouth and was about to say something, when Hermione started yelling again.

"WHY? DIDN'T I GIVE ENOUGH ATTENTION TO RON WEASLEY, CAPTAIN OF THE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM? OR WAS IT BECAUSE WE DON'T SHAG LIKE RABBITS? I assume that this doting trollop shags you whenever you want? Is THAT why you went off with someone else Ron? IS THAT WHY?"

"Now look here." Parvati began after the trollop comment, and stepped forward, placing her hands on her hips. "Don't you DARE call me that. You have no idea what's been going on, or why Ron came to me."

"No, but I have a pretty good idea." Hermione shot back.

  
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ron's voice interrupted. "Now both of you calm down, lets not over-react."

"Oh, only the guilty male would say something like that at a time like this." Hermione said. She looked at Parvati.

"I can't believe you would do this to me! HOW COULD YOU? YOU KNEW. You were the only one I told about how much Ron meant to me, and you just decide to go off and BANG HIM?"

Hermione began advancing on Parvati, who was slowly backing away. "I HATE YOU, YOU DIRTY HUSSY! I'll make you pay. Even if it takes me until my dieing day, I WILL have my vengeance!" She screamed at Parvati.

Hermione glared hatefully at Parvati and then looked at Ron. "I'll make you sorry. I'll make you so sorry that you cry." She promised, and stormed away.

*    *    *

Twenty minutes later, Hermione was just about to climb into bed, when she heard a tapping sound coming from her dorm window. She trudged over to investigate and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

A black eagle owl was tapping its beak frantically on the windowpane, while trying to hold onto the letter it had clutched in its talons.

Hermione looked around her room to make sure Crookshanks wasn't out and about, and opened the window to let the bird in.

A gust of icy-cold wind blew into the room with the owl, and sent a shiver up Hermione's spine, only further reminding her of the scene she had witnessed less than an hour ago. Thankfully, Parvati had gone elsewhere to sleep that night; most likely for fear that she would be slaughtered in her sleep.

The eagle owl dropped the letter on her bed, and impatiently flew straight back out into the night.

Hermione closed the window, sat on her bed, and with trembling fingers, opened the letter.

_Sorry about you having to find out that way, but there was no other alternative._

_Meet me on the third floor west corridor in fifteen minutes if you were serious about wanting revenge._

Hermione regarded the note for a moment, going over possibilities in her head.

It could be a trap set by that evil trollop. But this sounded like the same person as before, the person who tipped her off as to what was going on behind her back.

Then again, that too could have been Parvati Patil, the evil sadistic trollop who wanted Hermione to discover what her boyfriend was up to with another woman.

But no. This mystery 'friend' seemed to want to uncover the truth and to help Hermione.

[That's it.] She decided as she got off her bed, put her slippers back on, and grabbed her wand off her nightstand. [I'm going to find out who this is.]

*   *   *  

Fourteen minutes later, Hermione had just entered the corridor where she was supposed to meet her 'mystery friend' as she had now dubbed him or her, when a voice at the other end of the hall caught her attention. 

"_What's that, Mrs Norris? You can hear some naughty boy or girl creeping around the halls? Well, we'll have to do something about that, wont we?" _Filch's voice echoed through the corridor, and the sound of footsteps followed.

[Fantastic. I've discovered that my boyfriend has been having it off with another woman, AND I'm going to be expelled, all in the same night!] 

Hermione stood still, panicking.

She finally decided that she should at least try to get away, so she began running down the corridor, trying to get classroom doors open.

Each one she tried, one after another, was locked.

She tried an eighth door handle, and to her surprise, it opened.

Hermione darted inside, and closed the door, locking it with a locking charm she had learnt in third year.

"Thank god." She sighed, as she leant against the door, grateful to be out of trouble.

"Took you long enough." A bored voice drawled from the shadows as a dark figure stepped forward into the patch of moonlight that shone through the window.

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked incredulously as she saw who it was.

*    *    *

Dun dun duuunnn! There it is, chapter one. Finished. What did you think?

Review if you'd like. Flame if you must.

Although I must warn, that any flamers will be attacked with the shiny new pair of sais that my friend recently bought over the net, and would let me borrow. ;) Muahahaha. 


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